


No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

by HesitantlyHipsterAlien



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Ending, Angst and Fluff, Draco Malfoy was mean to Harry Potter because he liked him, Draco being a good person, Drarry, Gay Romance, Light smut eventually, M/M, Slow Build, canon character death mentioned, lots of fluff, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 03:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11199213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HesitantlyHipsterAlien/pseuds/HesitantlyHipsterAlien
Summary: Alternate Deathly Hallows ending where Draco split up with his parents and waited there for Harry on the bridge, knowing that the raven haired hero would help him do the right thing. Some parts angsty, most parts fluffy adventures follow as the blonde finally admits to himself that he was hiding a lot behind all those nasty taunts he now very much regrets.





	1. Draco Malfoy Does Something Right (For Once)

Chilly, biting winds howled as he sat on the edge of the mossy stone bridge, just outside of the school he'd spent just about half his life in. Other than the playful air currents, the only sound was his own, surprisingly calm breaths and his foot tapping against the stone.

This was the right thing to do, he just knew it was. 

Though, if the blonde haired Slytherin were being completely honest, he was surprised he'd made it this far. He'd expected to chicken out long before this, end up following his parents like the cowardly little whelp he'd always been. Only one person, who's kind words over the years still echoed in his thoughts, had brought him this far. And that one person could bring him to doing this good thing fully.

As if on cue, the raven haired, bespectacled male everyone thought he'd despised all these years, appeared at the end of the bridge. It was no surprise Granger was there too, and her annoyingly wise red headed boyfriend. The three approached him slowly, notably a little surprised to see him there.

"Draco..." Harry's tone was soft and shocked. He'd thought Draco would be long gone by now. "You stayed?"

A smirk pulled at the blonde's lips, one far less menacing than what the trio had grown to expect from him, as he stood to greet them. "Been around you too much, Potter," He said, his taunt having none of it's usual bite. "Your goody-two-shoes nature is starting to rub off one me..."

"You let your parents leave without you?" Hermione interjected, shocked, clearly.

"Mum wasn't too happy about it...but yes," The blonde replied nonchalantly- Narcissa Malfoy had thrown an absolute fit when her son refused to leave- stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. It was getting very chilly up here, and he was growing more aware of that by the moment. "In what may be the stupidest decision of my life...I've decided to follow Harry's example...and do the right thing. I'm going to give myself up to the auror's when they arrive to collect the Death-eater's who aren't dead and haven't run away..."

Ron scoffed. "So...what? You're going to attempt to make a mourner-"

"Martyr, Ronald," Hermione murmured, which Draco couldn't help but smile at. The two made a good pair, he thought. He was a bit surprised Potter hadn't seen it coming though.

"Thank you," Ron sighed. "You're going to make a martyr of yourself? You think that's supposed to impress us or something? Do you want a bloody medal, Malfoy? Are you forgetting that you were just on the side of the people who killed more than half the students and staff within Hogwarts?!"

Draco didn't even flinch, though Ron was now shouting at him. He figured he deserved this and much worse. But he was surprised when Harry spoke up.

"Ron..."

"Not now, Harry." The redhead snapped, moving within inches of Draco. "And another thing you smarmy, stuck up little codpiece, you-"

"Ron, stop!" Harry moved between the two of them, scowling behind his glasses. "Are YOU forgetting he hasn't had his wand this whole time? We've had it. That means that Draco had no magic, and other than his fists, he had no way to hurt anyone. As for his statement, I don't think he was trying to impress us..." After that spiel, he turned to Draco, studying him with a gentle expression. "You want us to help, don't you? To make sure you don't change your mind or back out at the last moment, right?"

Mutely, Draco nodded.

Ron stared for a moment, both startled by Harry jumping to Draco's defense, and by the great and powerful Draco Malfoy admitting he needed their help. That took a lot, even he had to admit.

"That doesn't seem so bad," Ron finally spoke. "It'd be nice to finally see you get what you deserve after what an-"

"Insufferable ass I've been?" Draco cut in, smiling some. "Thank you for the support, Ron..." 

He did mean that. He really was grateful that at least one of them was willing to help see to it that he did what was right.

"We'll all support you, Draco..." Hermione said suddenly, moving to squeeze his shoulder. "But are you sure you want to do this? Who knows how awful the punishment could be? You could be killed or worse. Are you sure you don't want to follow your parents? We can easily say we didn't see you, or-"

Draco only shook his head. "That's sweet of you, Hermione, especially after how dreadfully awful I've been to you...but I have to do this. It's the only way to clear my family's name, as I know there is no way my father would ever have the bollocks to turn himself in and clean up the mess he and I have made...even if it means death, I have to do something right, at least this once. You understand that, right?"

Hermione sort of half nodded, her expression surprisingly solemn.

"We'll walk you back," Harry offered, smiling a sort of sad smile. With that, all four of them started back up the bridge.

"Why were you all out here, anyways?" Draco asked after a moment. Harry stopped so suddenly it was almost comical, pulling the wand that Voldemort had searched months upon months for, the elder wand. It had chosen Harry as its wielder, to do with it as he saw fit.

"I almost forgot," Harry said, studying the long black piece in his hand for a moment.

"It's the most powerful wand in existence," Hermione remarked in amazement. "What'll you do with it, Harry?"

Wordlessly, Harry Potter snapped the most powerful wand in existence in two before tossing it off the bridge and down into the crashing rapids bellow. Ron and Hermione seemed a bit shocked, but Draco only nodded in understanding.

"The only safe thing to do with it," He said, watching Harry. "Make sure no one can ever use it again..."

Harry nodded, and with that out of the way, the three made their way up the stone bridge, headed for the center court yard in front of Hogwarts. There, they would wait for the aurors to arrive.

Stories down from the bridge, the two pieces of the elder wand tumbled and bounced through the rivers crashing waters. By some sort of unseen force, they had not yet drifted apart, though it was yet unclear where they would come to rest.


	2. Draco keeps his word and Harry becomes a Babysitter

There is a saying about tension so thick it can be cut like a knife, making tension sound like a semi-solid substance close to butter or maybe play-doh.

Draco hadn't experienced this type of tension before today. As he sat between Ron, who was bouncing his leg as he just couldn't seem to sit still, and Harry, who'd grown eerily quiet lost in his own thoughts, he felt it. It was a clingy, heavy weight- like a pile of mud had been dropped on top of him- pressing down on his shoulders and chest, breaking a cool sweat out along his hairline and making the air around feel harder to breathe. 

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't anxious.

It didn't help that, despite her feeble attempts at distraction being only meant in kindness, Hermione just could not seem to shut up. At all. She kept blabbering about how tragic it was that so much of Hogwarts' architecture was in shambles and that it would take quite a decent amount of building to return the school to its once glorious state.

If anything, she was only making things worse. But at the moment, he didn't care to say so, because in truth, all three were making it pretty hard to stay calm. Thus, he decided just to suffer in silence.

Professor McGonagall had spoken to them when they'd first reentered the courtyard, and had promised Draco that she'd send some of the aurors straight over as soon as they arrived. After that, she'd said something that both surprised and puzzled Draco. 

"I'm so proud of you, Mr. Malfoy," She'd said, her eyes locking with his, containing that completely frightening intensity he'd grown very familiar with over the years. "You've grown into such a bright young man, much like, at one point, I'd truly hoped your father would. I honestly could never have expected it, but I'm very happy to see this change in you with my own eyes."

Her words, although kind and a bit inspiring, were also puzzling to him. Had his father been like him once? Had he been kinder? Smarter? The Lucius Malfoy she described sounded nothing like the one he'd grown to know.

His father was something he didn't really care to think about. Draco had spent years trying to follow every word his father said to the tee, from not befriending 'mudbloods'- god, that was such an awful term- like Hermione to ruling the school halls with fear and power. He'd studied his ass off in school, staying up 'til all hours of the morning making sure his work was absolutely perfect, knowing his grades had to be high and impressive; a thing to brag about. But none of that had mattered in the slightest.

The Lucius Malfoy he knew was a cold and unforgiving man. One word when he wasn't spoken to and Draco would go without eating dinner that night. One low mark and Draco would be beat as soon as he got home- the cane his father liked to strut around with left terrible bruises that Draco had long since learned how to cover up. Despite how much he made it sound like his father was at his every beck and call, Draco had hated going home and hardly ever spoke to his father out of fear of invoking his wrath. The only reason he didn't stay at school over holidays like Harry did was because he knew his mother would want to see him. He knew she still cared.

"She'll never forgive me for this," He murmured to himself, picturing the shock on her face, this morning on the bridge when he'd said he wasn't going to leave with them. 

"Who?" Ron asked, glancing over. Hermione had gone quiet at some point during his not-so-delightful reverie and was looking at him too. Sighing, Draco figured a slightly uncomfortable conversation was better than none at all.

"My mum," He said, looking down at his hands- were they shaking?- as he explained. "She wanted me at home. Safe with her and dad. None of this 'redemption nonsense'." At the last two words, he used air quotations, which for some reason made Hermione laugh. When he and Ron looked to her, she quickly apologized, but she was still smiling. 

It felt nice. Making her smile like that.

Before the group members could say anything more, Draco looked up to see the two aurors approaching. His heart leapt into his throat as he watched them, forcing himself to stand and praying his knees didn't buckle like they felt they might. After a moment, the other three stood too, Hermione dusting bits of marble from the broken pillar they'd been seated on off of her and Ron.

"Draco Malfoy, you are voluntarily turning yourself in?" The female auror said, her tone very cool and official. Draco nodded, already unnerved by the dark haired woman and her bearded companion. He wondered, momentarily, if they'd drag him out of here in hand cuffs.

"And you three are the witnesses to this?" The man asked. All three nodded, and for a moment, there was tense silence. Then, the woman spoke again.

"Go and gather your things, if you have any here," She said. "We'll put all four of you on a train with one of our staff as soon as possible, and they will bring you back to HQ. Your punishment- if any- will be determined there."

Draco thought she'd added 'if any' to help him calm down a bit, and surprisingly, it had somewhat worked. After a moment of discussion, it was revealed no one had anything to retrieve from inside the school. The two aurors called a third, a tall, brunette man with bright green eyes, and gave him orders to take all four teenagers to the train station immediately.

One tensely silent carriage ride and two hours in train station lines later, Draco found himself sitting in one of the train cabins, staring out the window.

The thought struck him that this might be his last view of the outside world ever. His eyes burned at that thought, and for a moment, panic welled in his chest as he realized there was absolutely no way out now. He'd gone too far to turn back.

"This was what you wanted, Draco," He reminded and scolded his reflection. "You don't get to be a baby about it..."

"It's perfectly okay to be scared, you know," A familiar voice said from the doorway. Draco quickly turned to see Harry standing there, his blue eyes studying Draco's expression. "It took a bit, but I convinced the guard to let me sit in here with you. As much as I love Ron and Hermione, it is absolutely no fun being their third wheel."

Draco smiled some. He had to admire that. The way Harry could so easily make it sound like he wasn't even the reason for Harry's being in here. But, there was something in Potter's eyes that told him otherwise.

Harry perched on the seat beside Draco, resting a hand on the blonde's bony shoulder. "Do you want to talk about what you think will happen when we reach HQ, or should I ramble about some bullshit from my childhood?" Harry asked, smiling some.

Draco thought for a moment, leaning back against the seat before he answered. 

"Rambling is nice, maybe I'll get lucky and fall asleep," he grinned to show Harry he was in part, only teasing. "Besides...your childhood must have been miserable..."

"Oh it was," Harry started. And as he talked more and more about the bedroom under the stairs, Draco just sat and listened. In what might be the last few hours he had alive, it was nice to learn all the things he hadn't known about his worst enemy turned best friend.


	3. Draco's Redemption is a Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is going to be a point in this chapter where Draco is essentially tortured. If you're not too good on that it may be a good idea to skip this chapter

Daylight creeping in through the train car's window as it lumbered down the track was what woke him. He felt the piercing light on the back of his eyelids, and only moments later, he was acutely aware that he'd slept in a bad position for his shoulder. It throbbed and tingled.

Opening his eyes, he looked around. Almost immediately, he noticed the arm that wasn't his arm draped across his waist. Glancing back, he had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to stay quiet.

Harry had at some point removed his glasses and was snuggled into Draco's back. That was something the blonde hadn't thought he'd see in his life time. And for a brief, fearful moment, he wondered if Harry knew his secret?

Had Harry realized that over all the years of nasty taunts and cruel teasing, Draco had been hiding very different feelings? Had he discovered that Draco really hadn't hated him all those years? 

Could Harry know that Draco had fallen for him on day one?

Shaking his head, the blonde scoffed. That was completely wishful thinking on his part. Harry probably ended up laying beside him when he fell asleep and the arm around Draco's waist was just an accident.

Sighing, the blonde gently moved the other boy's arm, crawling out of his grasp to move to the other bench. Out the window, he could see the train station coming into view. It wouldn't be long now.

Harry awoke just as the train was slowing to a stop, and at the same time he sat up, Ron and Hermione came in through the doorway. Hermione's expression was somewhat somber, feeling very similar to how Draco's thoughts had turned when he saw the station come into view. Ron just seemed half asleep, probably because his darling girlfriend had only just woken him up.

"Well...this is it," Draco remarked, trying not to sound anxious. Before any of the others could comment, the auror who'd been sent with them entered.

"The train has stopped," The green eyed man said coolly. "Come, HQ is expecting us."

The four teens followed in silence, Draco keeping his gaze mostly downwards as they made their way through the bustling crowds of the station towards the fireplaces meant for travel. The auror was as silent and official as always, nowhere near as kind as the woman who'd tried to comfort Draco the day before.

Once they'd stepped through the green flames, they appeared in a building with polished black marble floors and tall granite pillars. The only ways to describe the place would be 'ominous' and 'corporate'. Draco stared around with wide, anxious eyes as the brunette auror they'd been left with guided them through a winding maze of corridors and stairways, until eventually, they reached a massive courtroom. 

"Wait here," The auror ordered them as they stood outside. "You will be called in when they're ready for you."

With that, he slipped into the court room and slammed the door shut.

Draco shivered involuntarily. The building was strangely cold, almost empty feeling. Like being passed by a dementor, but not quite as powerful.

"Am I the only one who's nervous about this?" Ron asked suddenly, looking at his three friends. Motioning to Draco, he stated: "You're way too calm about this, and its weird...I expected you to be freaking out by now."

"I am, I just hide it well," Draco murmured.

"Don't worry..." Harry soothed, reaching to squeeze Draco's shoulder. "Once they find out how little damage you caused because we had your wand, they're very unlikely to kill you..."

Draco nodded some. At least Harry helped, a little.

Before too much else could be said, the door opened, and an unfamiliar young desk clerk peeked out at the quartet. "We're ready for you know, Mr. Malfoy. Your friends can come in and sit. There isn't really too much to be discussed."

Though the court room was empty only moments before when the teens had peeked in, it was now quite crowded. The four trekked in; Draco was almost immediately separated from his friends and lead to a chair in the center of the room. In a moment of panic, he glances back to the others. Harry mouths 'it's okay', as if to say he's certain Draco will survive this.

Once Draco is seated, the whole court goes quiet. The judge looks down at Draco with a calm expression.

"Mr. Malfoy, you still have a dark mark on your forearm, correct?" The judge asked. Draco nodded, rolling up his sleeve to display the mark. It stuck out on his pale skin like a horrendous bruise, immediately calling attention to itself.

"Very good," the judge stated coolly. "That makes this easy. For your punishment, you can choose one of two options... you may either keep the mark, and be a pariah amongst the wizarding world for who knows how long, or, you can go through the process of having it removed. I do warn you, keeping the mark would be easier on you..."

Whispers traveled throughout the room. Draco could hear Hermione whispering that he should keep it, saying he could just cover it up. 

All at once, he knew what he had to do.

"When can the process be started? To remove the mark, I mean.." Draco asked softly, standing. All at once, the court is in an uproar, shock and surprise filling the crowd. Three sharp whacks from the judges gavel drew the crowds attention, bringing silence. 

"Are you sure this is what you want?" The judge asked Draco. "This process is agonizing...it'll leave scars..."

"When can it be started?" Draco asked again, watching the judge.

"Right now, if you'd like," The man stated, to which Draco nodded. Almost instantaneously, aurors evacuated the room, leaving the judge, Draco and his friends, and three women dressed in white standing in the court. The judge looked to the trio standing behind the blonde.

"If I were you three, I'd leave, this could be upsetting," He said, before stepping out himself. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved to stand with Draco. After a moment, the women in white, approach.

"Draco Malfoy, please kneel," the women ordered. He did as he was told, following suit as he was ordered to give them the arm that was marked. All three pulled their wands from somewhere, touching them to his forearm. After a few quietly murmured words, it begins.

And all at once, his arm is in agony.

Like being touched with a live wire, the pain is like every nerve ending is being jabbed at with a needle, like all the muscle in his arm are being torn apart, strand by strand. Draco screamed until his voice gave out completely, his whole body tense. But, just as suddenly as the removal process began, it ended.

Draco slumped against the legs of his friends. The dark mark was gone, in its place, only a harsh red scar remained. His skin was damp with sweat and his whole body trembled, but it was over.

"That's it then? You don't have to hurt him anymore?" Hermione asked, wanting to be certain it was truly over.

"We're done," The three women said in perfect synchronicity. "He'll need to rest, and there will be a scar, but the worst is over," at this, they turned and left, leaving Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Harry alone in the center of the room.

Draco passed out soon after. Exhausted.


	4. Weird Dreams and the Morning After

Draco woke in a pit of snakes.

They slithered around him, hissing, baring fangs, all the regular snake things. His pulse raced as he forced himself to stay still, knowing that if he panicked, it could anger the snakes and he might get bit. 

As a slytherin, he'd grown used to being compared to being a snake, but he'd never actually liked snakes himself. They freaked him out.

Trying to focus on anything but the scaly creatures slithering all over him, he scanned the walls of the pit. It seemed man man, as even though it was a hole, it was rectangular. Almost like a grave. Like he was in his grave.

So looking at the sides of the pit was not helping. Fan-fucking-tastic.

He wondered momentarily where Harry and the others were. Were they in this pit too? Or in other pits like it? Or worse, had they just thrown his unconscious body in here after removing the mark had made him pass out? Had all their kindness and support just been an act to make sure he did as he said he would? It almost made sense, as he didn't think he deserved their kindness.

'No', a small voice in his head said. 'Harry isn't like that. There must be a logical explanation as to why you're waking up here.'

He would've thought more on what the reason behind that was, but panic overrode his thoughts once more. It was kind of hard to think logically when every fiber of his being wanted to flail around until the snakes were off of him and then frantically scream and try and climb his way up the wall and out to freedom.

As a small black snake made its way across his throat, he closed his eyes, teeth clenched to keep from screaming. And that's when he heard it.

Someone was calling his name.

"Who's there?" he called back, moving his head very slowly so as not to disturb the snakes. "Harry? Ron? Hermione?"

He heard his name called again.

The realization he was dreaming hit like a sack of bricks. He hadn't even thought about it until he heard them calling his name. There was his logical explanation for why he woke up in this awful place. Weird dreams must have been a side effect of the removal process, that's all.

All he had to do was wake up. But even that, he knew, would be a struggle in itself.

Snapping his eyes shut once more to block out everything, he told himself that now he couldn't see the snakes, so he shouldn't be able to hear them. It took a few tries, but soon, the hissing faded. Now that they couldn't be seen or heard, he told himself that he shouldn't be able to feel them. He focused on the voice that said his name once more. That was real. He had to go to that. When he opened his eyes, he'd be where that voice was.

The walls of the hotel room he now found himself in were powder blue, which seemed almost childish when paired with the navy colored carpet. Through the lacy white curtains over the four pain window, he could see a bright orange sky. Was that sunrise or sunset? He couldn't tell.

The bed itself that he was laid on had very soft sheets that smelled almost flowery. He had a handful of the comforter, probably clenched when he was having that awful nightmare.

"Draco...?" Harry asked, drawing the blonde's gaze. The raven haired male smiled, squeezing Draco's shoulder. "Hey, we were worried you weren't going to wake up..." Ron and Hermione were sitting in chairs beside Draco's bed.

"What time is it?" Draco sat up, almost falling over into Harry's lap. He was dazed and more than a little lightheaded. Surprisingly, it was Ron who moved to steady him.

"Easy, blondie..." Ron soothed. "Don't pass out again."

"It's almost 4 a.m.," Hermione said softly. "You've been unconscious for almost a full day..." As she said this, Draco looked around. An unfinished card game and empty take out cartons were strewn about. As he leaned against Ron, the blonde took it all in. 

"Well, what did I miss?"


	5. What Draco Missed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is short. oops

"After you passed out," Harry said, taking Draco's forearm- which was incredibly sore for some strange reason, maybe the removal spell- and gently rolling up the sleeve. "These scars showed up on your arm...and you were burning up pretty badly...so we brought you here so you could rest and we could too..." 

Draco nodded some, looking at the harsh red marks on his forearm. Prodding one experimentally, he gave a sharp, startled sound at how tender it was.

"Careful," Hermione warned, offering him a cool cloth to set on his arm. "The women told us that the marks would be sore for a while." 

Draco nodded again, though he felt a bit shaky. What surprised him was how close Harry got when he rolled Draco's sleeve up and how gentle he was behaving in these moments. He glanced up at the raven haired male, who was now holding his hand, and he wasn't sure what to think about it all.

"Any word on Hogwarts?" He asked after a moment. The trio shook their heads, to which Draco nodded and looked down.

"We were told we're allowed to all go back," Ron stated after a moment. "Just to check if we can help clean up or something like that. We'd all like to, would you or...?"

"Of course I would," Draco said. "How soon?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ron soothed. "You only just woke up, blondie, take it easy for a bit, yeah?"

Draco nodded, letting himself relax a bit.


	6. The Remains of Hogwarts

Draco could feel the eyes of the other students on him. His arm throbbed painfully, but he didn't dare complain. Not when there was work to be done to clear up his biggest fuck up of all time.

Staying nearby Harry, he helped moving rubble out of parts of the building, the sharp rocks leaving cuts and scrapes all over his arms and covering him in a layer of grime he'd never in his life been accustomed to. 

Surprisingly, he liked it. It felt good just to be mindlessly helping, not having to think about what anyone else was thinking or doing.

Glancing to Harry, he couldn't help but smile just slightly. The bespectacled wizard was talking with Luna and Neville, his words so foolishly optimistic that Draco couldn't help but chuckle to himself. When Harry glanced back at him, he jumped a little.

"What are you laughing at Draco?"

Picking his words carefully, the blonde evaded the question altogether, instead saying: "You're incredible, y'know that? Even surrounded by all this, you're completely optimistic...a-and the way you talk, it makes your hopefulness pretty contagious..."

He'd stuttered because he was embarrassed. Neville and Luna were both giving him the strangest looks and he wasn't quite sure what to think about it. But, after a moment, Neville grinned.

"I never thought I'd hear the day when you said something completely nice to anyone, Draco," Neville said. Draco was about to say that he never thought he'd hear it either but Luna piped up.

"I knew we would, once he got around people who actually cared about him," She said, offering a smile to Draco. He knew what she meant by that. She'd known about the beatings his father used to regularly give him, as she'd witnessed one the first year she was at Hogwarts. 

He'd made her promise to keep it secret, and she'd said she would, but that he really should tell someone what was going on. Part of him wished he had, long ago, as it probably would have made his life a hell of a lot easier than it was right now. But another part of him was glad he hadn't. He wanted people to forgive him, not pity him.

Standing amongst the remains of Hogwarts, he looked around, his eyes stinging. This place had always been an escape for him, and now here he was, one of the people who'd helped destroy it. Sure, he was also trying to fix it, but still.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Neville asked, making him drunk. Face flushing with embarrassment, he scrubbed the tears off his face on the collar of his shirt, nodding.

"Yeah...better than I have been in a while, actually..." He said.

Harry squeezed his shoulder as Luna gave him a knowing smile. Neville nodded and after a moment, they all went back to work.

<<...>>

The night air was a little cool, but the stars above where everyone had laid out their sleeping bags were beautiful. Draco, who'd set himself up a bit away from most of the crowd, stared up at the sky, wishing he could shut his brain down enough to sleep.

Today had been a better day than he'd had in quite awhile. He'd talked to so many of his classmates he used to tease, and for the most part, no one seemed to hate him as much as he'd expected they would. Even Neville- who he, Crabbe, and Goyle had bullied mercilessly- seemed to have accepted Draco's change of heart.

The whole thing was sort of surreal.

"Aren't you cold this far away from the fire?" Harry's voice cut into his thoughts as the raven haired boy laid out his bedding a few inches from Draco's. Glancing, Draco shrugged a bit.

"I figured if I was over here, people wouldn't feel pressured to be nice to me..." Draco said. At this, Harry frowned.

"Draco, no one is being nice to you because they feel pressured," He said, his tone almost scolding. "Most people are just surprised that you're capable of not being a complete ass all the time. But its like Luna said, some of us knew you'd be different once you were around people who actually cared about you..."

Draco stared at Harry in shock for a moment, a memory flashing through his thoughts.

He remembered being back in his room, perched on the bed as Dobby unpacked his things. The house elf had been one of the few people Draco always told everything to. Hence how Dobby had known he was meant to help the great Harry Potter in the first place.

'Dobby he's such a wonderful person,' Draco had sighed, hugging a pillow to his chest. 'And of course I had to go and ruin it, acting like an ass to keep up appearances. He must hate me now.'

Dobby had paused in folding a shirt and walked over to the bed, setting a hand on the teen's knee.

'Dobby doesn't think Mr. Potter hates the young Master,' The house elf had said. 'But, he may wonder why the young Master acts the way he does. Perhaps if the young Master want Mr. Potter to like him, the young Master should give up appearances and just be himself...'

At that, Draco had given a melodramatic sigh.

'Being myself is harder than it sounds...' Draco had said. Dobby simply shrugged, a wise, knowing look in his over-sized eyes, before going back to his work.

"Maybe I should have listened to Dobby a long time ago..." Draco murmured.

"What?" Harry looked over at him in confusion.

"Nothing, sorry..." Draco sighed. After a moment, he sat up. "Did....did he suffer before he died..? Dobby, I mean..."

Harry looked at Draco, seeming almost surprised by the question. Then, he shook his head. 

"Oddly enough, he seemed happy to go..." Harry replied. Draco nodded, feeling his eyes sting. He hadn't really processed that Dobby was dead until this moment. The one person who'd known everything about him his whole life was gone forever.

Draco didn't even realize he was crying until Harry pulled him into a hug.

For a while, they sat just like that. Once Draco stopped crying, he pulled away from Harry to wipe his eyes.

"S-sorry...I didn't mean to just fall apart like that..." Draco said shakily.

"Don't be," Harry said, squeezing his hand. "I fell apart too..."

Nodding, Draco glanced to where Hermione and Ron stood off in the distance, Ron motioning to the stars as he said something.

"They're like a real life Romeo and Juliet in some ways, aren't they?" Draco said after a moment. At this, Harry looked confused again.

"Who?"

Looking at the raven haired boy, Draco smiled slightly, pausing a moment before he spoke.

"Romeo and Juliet are the lovers in this tragic romance I once read," He started softly. "The whole thing was written by this brilliant muggle named William Shakespeare, and..."

And just like that, Draco was retelling a love story to Harry, explaining the intricacies of the star-crossed lovers of fair Verona. All throughout, Harry simply listened, an amused expression on his face as he lay on his side watching Draco.

The surreality continued.


	7. Love and Other Concepts Draco Doesn't Admit He Understands

They're on the train again.

Its been three days since they finished cleaning up the rubble from Hogwarts, and now they are all being taken to a safe house building of sorts while it is assured all the criminals involved are safely away.

Draco and Harry are talking. They've been doing that a lot lately and Draco loves every minute of it. They've talked about everything. Draco explained his love for Shakespeare and his favorite plays, Harry explained the adventures of his that Draco only knew gossip about. Draco talked about the harsh realities of his relationship with his father, Harry talked about the Dursleys. Draco talked about Dobby being his best friend growing up. Harry smiled, offering only one comment.

"I was always curious how he knew so much about me."

Draco smiles at that. "I did talk quite a bit about you...you were always this...genuine, incredible positive person, and everything I wanted to be but couldn't because I had a 'reputation' to uphold."

As he says this, he rubs his scarred arm. Its a nervous habit he's picked up recently. Harry seems to notice and gently sets a hand over his.

"You're doing a pretty good job of being a better person now, and that definitely counts for something," Harry says with a smile that makes Draco lightheaded. How can Potter be so perfect and always know what to say all the time?

Draco turns to ask Harry this but never gets the chance.

Because suddenly Harry's lips are on his, and every thought Draco had flickers out of existence. Because nothing matters except him and Harry and this bubble they're in.

Kissing went a little further than Draco had initially expected.

His shirt was off and so was Harry's, and he had laid on the train seat with Harry straddling him, when the door to their seats opened and Hermione gave a surprised sound.

"Oh!"

Harry pulls away in startlement and Draco follows his gaze to where Ron and Hermione stand in the doorway. Hermione is blushing furiously, Ron simply smirks. 

"So that's what Ginny meant by she wasn't your type..." He says, looking to Harry who grins shyly. Draco carefully props himself up on his elbows, annoyance covering the embarassment in his tone when he speaks.

"Did you two need something, or...?"

Hermione speaks, clearly still a bit flustered in her own surprise. "The train will be stopping in an hour."

Draco sighs some, nodding. Harry grins. "An hour is more than enough time to-"

"Yes okay come on, Ron," Hermione said, turning to leave. Ron laughed and followed her, shutting the door. After a moment, Harry looked back to Draco. Draco smirked.

"Ginny's not your type, huh?"

"Fuck you."

"I thought that was the plan, Potter," This time, the use of Harry's last name is not malicious. In fact, the way Draco spits it out, its more of a challenge. Harry grins.

"Well I hope you're not a screamer, or we may out ourselves to all of our classmates," He says as he leans down to kiss Draco again, this time starting on his jaw.

Draco's eyes flutter closed. "That may not be a bad thing."


End file.
